Prayers for the lamb
by XxSpadesBunnyxX
Summary: Matthew is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at a young age. Now what will happen to their once happy family?
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this because of a story I heard of a person who died recently with the same form of cancer Mattie will have in this story. I don't own anything, but just pray for that person's family, I can't help but feel really sad when I hear of someone dying…**

**Anyway, here's Prayers for the lamb**

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"I'm sorry…w-what?"

The angry brit stared in shock at the doctor in front of him, who kept calm and momentarily shuffled the documents in his hands into an organized pile before repeating what he just said.

"I said your son has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer…It's still in stage one, but if it goes untreated, it can spread. But even with treatment, there is a huge possibility it's still there… I'm sorry Mr. Kirkland, but I give him a year to live."

Arthur banged his fist on the desk, fighting back tear and choking back a sob before his knees buckled, causing him to fall back onto the chair behind him.

Arthur buried his face into his hands and not a moment later, the doctor walked from behind his desk next to Arthur, attempting to put a hand on his shoulder in comfort before it was slapped away by said brit.

Arthur gazed up at the doctor in a mix of anger and anguish. "Don't give me your sympathy damn it, isn't there something you can do?"

The doctor sighed. He didn't even have to refer to the notes on his desk to relay the rest of the information to Arthur.

"I-I'm sorry, but he's only been diagnosed today. We could possibly perform a surgery, but we will have to find someone with the same rare blood type as Matthew, and that can take quite some time since his blood type is hard to find in a small town like this. Just spend as much time as you can with him and pray for the best.

The doctor didn't even blink when Arthur immediately rose and held him by the front of his coat, glaring daggers into him with his now venomously green eyes.

"Don't give me that shit. I stopped believing in god a long time ago. He didn't help me before, so why would he help me now? And you _are_ a doctor aren't you? So do your job and cure him."

The doctor's calm and cool exterior had reached it's end as he shoved Arthur off of him, sending the poor man onto the floor, where he stared up at the doctor with a rebellious gaze.

"Mr. Kirkland. You need to be realistic. If I could instantly cure him now, I would, but we don't have that kind of technology or medicine yet. And even if we did perform it the surgery, like I said, there is a possibility it _won't_ work. So you need to stop being in denial and spend the family time your son deserves."

Arthur winced at the bitterness that was laced into the doctor's words, and he stood up, where his scowl was replaced with sorrow as reality hit him.

"I'm s-sorry I snapped. It's just…ever since his other father left…well….he and Alfred are all I have left…"

Arthur gazed outside the window which showed the two adults a full view of the courtyard, where Alfred and Matthew were playing on the playground that had been installed for the children there.

Alfred was running around doing who knows what, while Matthew sat at the bottom of the slide, just watching in amusement as his twin ran around and tried desperately for the smaller to play with him. They stopped momentarily at the sight of their father through the window, and waved.

Arthur waved back and waited for them to return to their own business before speaking to the doctor again, though his gaze never left Matthew, the small boy who was indeed weaker than his brother, but had many other traits to make up for that fact, like keeping his brother out of trouble, and having an unusual knack for quickly picking up words in French.

He was a smart boy, whose bright future was about to be cut short by a cruel fate.

"I-It's just not fair. Not to anyone. Not to a seven year old…but especially not to Matthew."

The doctor put a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. And he's taken those younger than your son before."

"I just don't know why it had to be him..."

The doctor sighed once more. "I don't know either. But we will try our best. I will try to find a donor who is willing to donate blood, and I will inform you of anything you need to know. But as for you, in your current circumstances, you should try to save up for the surgery now should there be one in the future."

Arthur simply nodded and was about to say something before being interrupted once more.

"Also, Matthew doesn't know of his condition. Me and my nurses have kept quiet in case. Though it might be recommended to not stress out the poor boy."

Arthur nodded and his focus returned to the two boys, lost in their own little world outside.

_But if the worst happens…what will I explain to the both of them?_


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Hetalia**

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The next 2 months flew by in a blur and Arthur was able to keep busy by working overtime on weekdays at the office to earn extra money for Matthew's operation, and then spending weekends with his sons, well mostly Saturdays, as on Sundays, the twins would join their friends at church which left Arthur at home focusing on the bills, which he was now falling behind in, and was being threatened of being evicted.

The worse came, and he dialed Francis.

"Please Francis" Arthur pleaded. "The landlord is threatening to evict me and the twins if we don't pay by the end of the month."

"Non. It is your fault that you fell behind on bills in ze first place. Why don't you just dip into your savings?"

The coldness of Francis's voice stung Arthur, who was now fighting back tears.

"You know I'm saving that for Matthew's operation Francis. Don't you care about your own son's wellbeing?"

The short pause momentarily filled Arthur with hope. Francis loved Matthew, so he couldn't be this cruel right?

Wrong.

"…I'm sorry Arthur….but you know that after our divorce, he was put in your custody. So…he is your son now."

Francis hung up, but Arthur still grasped onto the phone.

"Damn you Francis! We need that money or Matthew's going to die!"

Arthur let the phone slip out of his grasp, and he fell onto his knees on the cold tiled kitchen floor, where he buried his face into hands and sobbed.

It wasn't until he heard two gasps behind him did he regret calling that frog.

He turned around, and there stood the two 7 year olds. Mouth agape, and Arthur panicked and wondered how much they heard, which was answered by Alfred.

"D-dad? What do you mean Mattie's gonna die?"

He couldn't believe that he let this happen. And to have to explain this to them just 2 weeks before their birthday no less.

Shakily, Arthur stood up and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Come…I have something I need to explain to you."

And that he did.

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

"S-so…I'm going to die?"

Arthur winced at his son's words. Just the fact that Matthew understood all Arthur had said for the past hour was disturbing enough. Now to for him to come to conclusions on his own just killed Arthur on the inside.

"No…I'm not going to let that happen, love. I've been saving money for you to go to the doctor's office again. And they will make you better. I promise."

Matthew seemed to believe his dad's words and gave out a breath of relief.

Alfred on the other hand…

"No they won't! The doctors can't do anything!"

Before Arthur can ask Alfred what he meant, the frantic 7 year old sprinted to his room, banging the door with such strength that it seemed the house shook.

Arthur followed in pursuit, leaving Matthew in the living room, with the same confused look as Arthur.

When Arthur opened the door, he was astounded to see that the messy room was even more messier as Alfred was throwing toys and other projectiles around the room, most hitting the walls and either breaking into pieces or simply leaving a mark the falling onto the cushion of the carpet. Arthur had to dodge quickly when a Bop It © grazed his ear.

The slinging stopped, and the brit headed for the boy in the middle of the room, now hugging his knees and sobbing while on the ground.

_Probably tired himself out…_Thought Arthur.

When Arthur crouched down to his level and hugged the 7 year old to his chest, who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

Arthur stroked Alfred's hair in hopes of calming him down.

"Shh..shh…there there…it's alright Alfred…"

The boy shook his head profusely. "N-no it won't! M-mattie's s-sick, and th-those doctors *hic* can't h-help him."

Arthur couldn't believe his ears. Alfred was the boy who, under any circumstances, sad or difficult, could keep his head held high while joking about it all the while. But to see him so broken…it was heartbreaking.

"What makes you say that lad?"

Alfred was still sniffling and taking stuttering breaths, but he managed to explain.

"W-when we w-were little, m-mom was i-in the *hic* h-hospital, and she w-was sick t-too, and w-we never s-saw her again. M-mattie doesn't r-remember her, but I-I do…and it w-was scary. A-and the h-hospital p-people t-took us a-away."

Arthur facepalmed. Of course it would have to do with their mother.

Though it wasn't hard to believe, Alfred and Matthew were adopted by Francis and Arthur at the age of 4. Their report said that at the age of 2, their father left, leaving their sickly mother in charge of the two, but at the age of three, things took a turn for the worse, and their mother died of an illness that wasn't named in the report, but that day, the two were taken away to be put up for adoption.

The fact that Alfred remembers that day in full detail was surprising to Arthur however. He didn't know that Alfred still bared those scars.

Arthur patted Alfred's back. Not knowing what to say now, he simply cried with Alfred. "It's okay….It will all be okay…"

Outside, next to the doorway, Matthew decided that he had heard enough and went to the kitchen to pick up the discarded phone on the ground, trying to remember the number for his papa's cell phone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Welcome to the thrird chapter of Prayer for the lamb…I really don't know what to say but thank you ****hurricaneclaw**** for reviewing, Iggy22 for favoriting, and Falsebound Wings and The Battle Of Words for following this story, so you guys are seriously awesome.**

**Anyways, Chapter 3.**

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_2 weeks later_

"Happy birthday Mattie!"

The quiet, now 8 year old smiled. He had been in the hospital for nearly 3 days now, and hearing his twin wish him a happy birthday had just cheered him up.

"Thanks Alfred, and happy birthday to you t-too…Is there anything you want?"

Alfred frowned. "Buy Mattieeee…if we share a birthday, it won't be special to the either of us…we have to share it."

"Well…what do you want me to do?"

Alfred lit up. "I KNOW! You can keep your birthday on July 1st, and mine will be on July 4th!"

"W-wait…if you have yours on July 4th, then you would share your birthday as America's birthday…"

"Exactly! Then everybody in the US would celebrate my birthday without knowing it!"

"That's not fair…what do I have?"

Alfred thought about it while pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers in realization. "I know! Canada day!"

"That's not fair…what do you do on Canada day?"

Alfred shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Arthur watched Alfred from the corner of the room. A smile slowly making it's way onto his face as Matthew got more involved in his and Alfred's bickering. For the past three days, Matthew had been in the hospital for tests that the doctors wanted to run on him. Apparently, the cancer has slowed somewhat during the past 2 months, and they wanted to keep it that way. Which made him and his twins happy.

He didn't want to see his boys' happiness fade

Arthur suddenly heard a knock, which not moments after, a nurse let herself in. "Mr. Kirkland, there is a and a who wish to send their kids in?"

Arthur gazed in confusion until he remembered that he invited Matthew's and Alfred's friends over to wish them a happy birthday.

"Um…yes, let them in please."

After what seemed like 3 minutes, a frantic Feliciano bursted into the room, making his way onto the bed where he threw himself onto Matthew, telling him about events he missed, in full detail, and asking him if he was okay.

Matthew chuckled as he tried to decipher Feliciano's rapid speech, though he made no attempt to keep up, though he did hear a 'Happy birthday' at the end of the italian's rant.

"Thanks Feli…it's nice to see you here."

It wasn't long for Gilbert and Lovino to come in as well, Lovino going over to Feliciano in a huff and dragged him of the bed by his shirt collar. "Damn it Feli, if you keep bursting into rooms like that, you'll give Mateo a heart attack!"

Alfred dragged Feliciano away from Lovino. The american was happy that his best friend was there too. "Hey Feli! You came here too? That's awesome!"

"Yup! Happy birthday Alfredo!"

Alfred blushed slightly then tackled Feliciano in a hug. "THANKS BUDDY!"

As Alfred and Feliciano went into a discussion that everybody else was unable to understand due to their rapid speech, Gilbert was the next to wish Matthew a happy birthday, and made his way to him, and ruffled his hair.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIRDIE!"

Matthew blushed. "T-thanks Gil, it means a lot to me that you came."

"That's not all, the awesome me got you a present" Gilbert said with a smirk on his face. He then was able to seemingly pull out a stuffed polar bear from behind him, and handed it to Matthew, whose blushed only deepened.

"Yeah, I didn't know if ya still liked stuffed animals, but whatever, It's from the awesome me so it doesn't suck."

The nurse picked a horrible time to walk in. "I'm sorry to all of you, but visiting hours for friends is closed. Only Alfred and Arthur can stay now."

Feliciano, Lovino, and Gilbert groaned, and Lovino was able to drag Feliciano out the door.

Gilbert however, tried to persuade the nurse for him to stay with his puppy dog look. "B-but we just got here. It'd be unawesome if we left now."

The nurse was unaffected. "Yeah, and it would be 'unawesome' if I told your scary looking father who is waiting in the waiting room that you refuse to go out."

Gilbert flinched. "Okay! See ya later birdie! Try to get better!"

And with that, Gilbert left, the nurse trailing behind him to make sure he went outside.

After a while of silence, Alfred climbed up on the foot on Matthew's bed, and pulled out an ancient looking book. A bible.

Alfred looked to Arthur who was still in the corner of the room, still tired of staying up most nights to watch Matthew. "Hey dad, do you want to read with me? I'm just going to tell Mattie what he missed at church last Sunday."

Arthur felt uncomfortable at the thought of reading the bible and thought of any excuse to leave the room. "Sorry lads but…I'm going to get a cup of coffee, so stay here, all right?"

Arthur got up and went outside the room, though he didn't really leave as he kept hidden right next to the door outside, and listened to the twins.

"O-okay Al, so what happened in church?"

"U-umm…oh yeah! Okay Mattie, so apparently, there's a guy named Jesus, and the preacher guy told me that he died, but he came back to life."

"Woah…"

"Yup! But when he died, he made it so that when we die, we go to a place called…um….heaven."

"Where's heaven?"

Alfred thought for a while, trying to search his memory of anything else he learned. "I…don't really know, but…I don't think he told me…"

"I-it's okay…will you tell me next week though?"

"Of course! You're my bro! I have to tell you these things! And maybe, maybe next week, you'll feel better enough so you can go too!"

Outside the door, Arthur grimaced. He wasn't much of a religious person himself. Sure, when he was little, he and his family would go to Church every Sunday, but…too many things have happened, and he didn't get a reply, nor any help he was supposed to received when he prayed and believed.

_He may only have a year to live._

But…he does need a miracle…


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey peoples, I guess, just enjoy the new chapter of Prayer of the lambs. I was really surprised when people started faving and putting alerts for this Fanfic, I really thought it would be one of those random fanfics that just gets passed by, quickly being forgotten, but alas, tis not true, and I want to hug those who reviewed/Faved/Alerted.**

**Sorry for keeping you waiting so long, Here's the chapter!**

After nearly 5 long grueling months later, Christmas had finally came, and though it was spent at the hospital room instead of at home, Matthew was happy to know that he got to spend some quality time with his father and brother, and as well as his friends, who came to visit, and he watched as they set up a Christmas tree in the corner of the room. But instead of setting down the presents, they got them ready to give.

Matthew had been slightly depressed since August when his cancer had come back in a full swing, and doctors had him stay in the hospital 24/7. Because of this, Matthew wasn't able to go to public school with his brother and friends and was forced to be taught by Arthur, as they weren't able to hire any tutors, in the hospital room.

It wasn't helping either that on weekdays, his friends were forced to stay home due to it being school nights, and Alfred had his own studies to worry about. So it was usually just him, and Arthur, and at nights, the latter wasn't even there as he had to pick up his other son from Feliciano's house, where he usually stayed when Arthur went to Matthew.

It was also evident that Matthew was starting to wear down. His once golden hair that was soft was now thinning, and was slowly falling due to radiation tests. His skin, which was already pale before, was now becoming a sickly color. Even standing up can be a challenge due to his depleting energy, and his once vibrant violet eyes, were gradually becoming duller, becoming darker under as he becomes more stressed out.

Today was different though. It was Christmas, so the small boy couldn't help but smile when they were handing eachother presents, or genuinely laugh when his brother got a dorky sweater vest from his father instead of that Xbox he had been wanting for ages.

"Hey Mattie, mattie, mattie, mattie, mattie" Alfred bounced up and down, trying to capture the attention of his brother, who was lying down comfortably in his bed. "You seriously have to open my present. Me and Feli spent all week trying to think of a perfect gift and getting it, and wrapping it."

The Italian next to him nodded. "Ve~ I hope you enjoy it Mateo~"

Matthew chuckled as Feliciano handed him a poorly wrapped green and red box. He slowly unwrapped it, thinking it would be a pile of drawings or a small wooden car, but once the contents were revealed, Matthew gasped.

It was a blue jersey for the Toronto Maple leafs, custom fitted to fit him, and his last name on the back. Matthew was stunned, and if he could, he would glomp his twin. He loved the Toronto Maple Leafs since he found out the Mascot was a polar bear.

Arthur's eye twitched. "A-and where did you get a jersey? N-no, where did you get the money for that jersey?"

Alfred winced a bit at Arthur's tone. "Well…we didn't know what to get Mattie, so we asked Feli's grandpa, and he said he could help us, and one day, he just gave us it."

Arthur gaped a bit, wondering how much he should pay Feliciano's grandpa back, but placated when he saw that Matthew was happily hugging his new jersey. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Feli, and you too Alfred! Thank you!"

Alfred gave his twin a small hug, and Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, a hockey jersey, well… no offense…But still, Birdie! I'm going to give you the most awesomest gift ever!"

Gilbert hesitated a bit, before making his way to Matthew, taking his sweet time when he saw that everybody was staring at him.

"Oh just get on with it!" Lovino yelled from his seat in the corner. He was certainly NOT in the mood after he was just given a crayon drawing to make up his Christmas present.

Gilbert gave the present to Matthew, who stared and examined it a bit. It was a black and white flat rectangular box that was more neatly wrapped than the other present, though was still looking somewhat messily wrapped(what can you expect? He's 8).

Matthew slowly unwrapped it, and was met with….wood?

The more he unwrapped it, the more he realized what it was. It was a picture frame, painted one half of the frame red, and the other half, black.

The picture itself was one of him and Gilbert during the latter's 7th birthday. Before any of this. In the picture, they were both wearing party hats, and were close to eachother,

Gilbert holding his hand under a plate with a cake piece on it that Matthew was holding, right before he was going to smash it in his face. None the less, both boys had been happy and laughing, enjoying eachother's company at that party.

Matthew blushed. "T-thanks Gil…this is a r-really nice gift."

Matthew set the frame on the desk next to the bed, and the albino was happy that his friend liked his gift

Alfred and Matthew frowned however, feeling betrayed. "Ve~ does…that mean you don't like our gift anymore?"

Matthew jumped in response, not knowing what to say. "N-no! No! I like yours too! A-and I like G-Gil's too…um..."

Arthur stepped in. "What he means is that, all of your presents are very special to him so he can't choose a favorite."

Matthew nervously nodded and they all froze when they heard a knock on the door, followed by the nurse, who stepped in as everybody groaned, knowing one of them would go home.

"Hello everybody, but, Feliciano, Lovino, your grandfather is here to pick you up."

Feliciano sighed and Lovino huffed, going about the room as they readied all their belongings.

Feliciano gave Matthew and Alfred a quick hug goodbye, though the latter blushed a little.

Feliciano and Lovino headed for the door.

"Ve~ Buonanotte and Buon Natale everybody!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah…go already."

Feliciano headed into the hallway, the nurse trailing behind, but Lovino chose to linger a bit in the doorway.

"…Oh yeah….um…Mateo…Buon Natale and uh….g-get well soon…."

And with that, he left closed the door behind him, leaving Alfred, Matthew, Arthur, and Gilbert to have the rest of the night to themselves.

After about 20 minutes in silence, Gilbert smirked when he thought that Arthur and Alfred were asleep on the chairs.

Quietly, he went over to Matthew, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a familiar green plant with red berries.

"Hey birdie, you want to see something the sixth graders showed me?"

Matthew tilted his head in confusion and curiosity. "S-sure, why not, eh?"

Gilbert presented the plant. "It's a mistletoe!"

"…..So….w-what does it do?"

Before Gilbert could explain, a hand shot out from behind him and grabbed the mistletoe out of his hands.

It was Arthur, who was now sporting a devious smirk. "No way in hell Beilshmidt."

Gilbert gulped, and backed into a corner of the bed, and Arthur looked as if he would strangle the albino 8 year old, when on cue, the nurse from earlier walked in, and froze when she saw Gilbert backed into the edge of the bed, and Arthur holding up the mistletoe, but she shrugged it off.

"Gilbert, your father and brother are here."

Gilbert sighed a breath of relief and nodded as he hurriedly got off the bed to hug Matthew real quick (Despite the death glares of Arthur) and walked away with the nurse.

"See ya later birdie!"

An hour later, the brit smiled as he layed a sleeping Alfred next to Matthew, who, after 10 minutes Gilbert left, went to sleep.

Arthur sighed and set a chair next to the bed, where out of boredom, he reached the clipboard with Matthew's information.

The skimmed through all the info until he reached one certain chart which when he read, he could've sworn his heart stopped.

_65%..._

"Are you worried about Mattie dad?"

Arthur jumped at the voice, finding Alfred now awake, with a slightly curious look on his face.

"A-A bit, love…"

Alfred carefully made his way over around his sleeping twin, and next to Arthur, where he attempted to read what was on the charts.

"I don't really know what it means…what does it say dad?"

Arthur was close to tearing up. "Well… I can't really explain exactly, but…lets just say that what it says here, is making me worried.

"Oh…" Alfred looked at the ground, thinking of ideas. He grinned a bit when he thought of something that could cheer his dad up.

"…You know, Feliciano says that…if we pray, we can tell God what's wrong…and maybe he can help us…"

"I-is that so?"

"Yup…hey dad? Why don't you ever come to church with us?"

"Well….I don't really have the time." Arthur lied. He wasn't really a religious person. Having gone through many things in his life had made him question his beliefs.

"Oh…well….can you still pray with me?"

Arthur stared at his son, who looked like he would be hopeful until the end…he couldn't just ruin that for him now…

"…sure…"

Alfred cheered up a bit, and he went to instruct Arthur the way to pray, and he lead him.

"…Amen."

"Amen." Arthur repeated.

Moments later, Arthur opened his eyes. He hadn't really prayed in a long time, and doing it now was a bit…awkward for him.

"Alfred?"

The 8 year old didn't respond, and it wasn't until he lightly snored that Arthur realized what happened and chuckled.

_The poor lad fell asleep right after we prayed._

Once more, Arthur carried his son, and set him next to Matthew, kissing their foreheads, and bidding them goodnight.

"Merry Christmas boys…"

Still not being able to sleep however, he sat down on the chair and grabbed the clipboard. Every page was leading up to the fact that Matthew was steadily getting worse.

He sighed and set down the clipboard, pinching the bridge of his nose as he wondered what he could do.

"…_pray for the best"_

"…_if we pray, we can tell God what's wrong…and maybe he can help us…"_

Arthur bit his lip as he kneeled on his knees next to the bed, clasping his hands together as he closed his eyes, genuinely and desperately hoping this would work.

"_Dear god…I know it's been a while…"_


End file.
